MSC Meraviglia Disembarkation and back to NYC -- March 2024

Disembarkation and NYC -- March 17, 2024 

We set the alarm for 5:30 am. Travis woke up at 5:15 am and got to see the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge lit up in the dark. Pictures of the approach from our room.  

We had buffet breakfast (no hot chocolate in the buffet when normally other cruise lines do) and were ready to walk off about 7:30 am. We had to be out of our cabins by 7:30 am too. They called walk off about 7am and had published 7:30 am. Our room steward confirmed that four luggage tags was enough; I said perfect but that were were going to walk off with luggage. The luggage tags were innovative and a little dorky at the same time. They had an extra circle sticker to pull off and put on your shirt or jacket. Then, in the terminal, they could quickly direct people to their luggage area. Disembarkation was pretty fast; more disembarkation details in my summarized review. 

We did not catch the bus this time, but walked about 25 minutes to a subway station. We rode to our hotel, the Feather Factory in Long Island City in Queens, to store luggage. They let us store our 4 roll-a-boards and three backpacks, just taking Travis's smaller backpack packed for the day. They also let us visit the restroom before setting out, and we got on the wifi to load our path. 

We subway'ed over to Manhattan and found Radio City Music hall and Rockefeller Center. We wanted to take the kids to the Nintendo store near Rockefeller Center, but it did not open until 11am on Sunday. We did not want to wait around, so they had to window shop instead.  

There was a half marathon in Manhattan on the day that we returned; our FB group warned of this. We had already found some people with big finisher banners over their shoulders when we were still in Brooklyn. It was on 42th Street and later turned onto another street around Time Squares going from Brooklyn to Time Square. These streets was fully blocked off, so to cross the street, we followed people who knew what they were doing and went illegally through the subway stations to come out the other end or across the street. It was cool to see. I overheard the police say that it will be finished up in about 2 hours. We seemed to see the end which was a parade of emergency vehicles and trash trucks. A policeman did let some people through the barricades, so we took the opportunity to get on the correct side for our booked Broadway show.  The NYC Half Marathon 42th St. with the Empire State Building. We did go look at the entrances of the Empire State building but did not get in (since it was in Elf, the Christmas movie). 

Chrysler Building, Trinity Church, and the New York Stock Exchange...covered with an ad, geez. Then Bryant Park where we stopped for a snack.  

We had lunch of hotdogs and a big pretzel at Grand Central Station (no pictures, but it is pretty) before heading to our show. We booked the Book of Mormon. It was good, funny, and not completely appropriate for the kids. We ate all the snacks and did not try to take them in. They let our water in and the small backpack. The lady's restroom was run by a drill sergeant during intermission. It was a 20 minute intermission. There was wrapping lines in the restroom area. She was shouting: ladies, you have 16 more minutes; don't use cell phones in the stall. She shouted out the open stall for the next person in line. This worked; the guys said that there was nothing like that in the men's restroom. I was hoping that Owen would make it back in time. So, get there quickly; don't think about it. I was not quick, but we were close to the lady's room, so I still got a good place in line. We had the 4 aisle seats and were almost mowed down by a lady in the middle; she knew the urgency. 

After the show, we found pizza by the slice on the way to the World Trade Center area. I loved how the clouds were reflecting in this building and the trees in front. I was still eating my slice (I'm a slow eater) when we arrived at the first reflecting pool. People were crying, and I said this is not appropriate. We have to move further away, so I can eat and not further upset those paying their respects. The 9/11 Museum is very good; Travis and I went in 2016. We did not take the kids this time since we had been, it is expensive, hard to get tickets, just history for them, and they expressed no interest. 

The new Oculus building with train and subway stations and stores. This is where PATH to and from Newark airport enters Manhattan. The moon is in the second picture. One World Tower from the bottom, not seeing all of it. 

Cool animal statues to the side of the Oculus.

Our hotel was nice and was clean. It was near a large train yard that looked like a train yard for parking trains that were not in use, just from seeing it on the Google map, but it was in use. It was a large train hub; we saw Amtrak and NJ trains. They ran at all hours of the night. It was in an industrial area; on the other side of the tracks were stores and restaurants. We also stopped at Trader Joes before returning to get a few snacks for the room, next day, and the plane. Also after flat pillows on the cruise, we were happy to have good pillows and two per person. 

Next up...Last day in NYC. 

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